-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Cristiano Ronaldo 's sixth-minute strike saw holders Manchester United become the first English team to win in Porto , reaching the semifinals of the Champions League 3-2 on aggregate in the process .

Ronaldo scores in spectacular style as Manchester United reached the Champions League semis .

The European Player of the Year fired a spectacular 35-yard strike into the top corner as United remained on course to become the first team to retain the Champions League -- and will now face Premier League rivals Arsenal for a place in the final in Rome .

The stunning goal was Ronaldo 's 20th of the season but only his second in the Champions League since scoring the opener in last year 's final in Moscow .

After drawing the first leg 2-2 at Old Trafford , Porto only needed a low-scoring draw to reach the last four , but in truth they never looked threatening against a United defense superbly marshalled by Nemanja Vidic and the returning Rio Ferdinand .

In fact , had Vidic been able to keep his close-range effort under the crossbar after John O'Shea had got the faintest of touches to a Ryan Giggs corner just before the interval , United would surely have completed their task in the first 45 minutes .

`` We were very solid at the back tonight and that stability helped us , '' United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports .

`` The return of Rio Ferdinand alongside Vidic was a major boost and scoring an early goal helped settle us . It was a great strike by Cristiano and although we did n't score a second goal , I thought we never looked in danger of conceding , '' he added .

The result puts Ferguson head-to-head with his old foe , Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger , for a place in the final against either Chelsea or Barcelona .

It also keeps alive United 's dreams of claiming an astonishing five trophies this season after also winning the English League Cup and the Club World Cup .

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Manchester United beat Porto 1-0 to reach the Champions League semifinals

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Cristiano Ronaldo scores a sixth-minute stunner to put holders into last four

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United become first English team to win in Porto and now face rivals Arsenal